Eddie Van Halen's Hometown Unveils Touching Memorial Plaque In His Honor

A tribute fit for a rock legend.

On Monday (October 11), Eddie Van Halen's hometown of Pasadena, California unveiled a touching memorial plaque in the late rock star's honor. The plaque sits near the Civic Auditorium, where Van Halen played a number of shows in their early years.

"The Van Halen family emigrated from the Netherlands to Pasadena in 1962. Alex and Eddie Van Halen attended schools in Pasadena and began playing music together with Eddie on guitar and Alex on drums," the plaque reads. "Years later, the brothers formed the band Van Halen, along with bassist Michael Anthony and vocalist David Lee Roth. Between 1975 and 1978, Van Halen performed 14 concerts at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and Conference Center."

The plaque was unveiled by Mayor Victor Gordo just a few days after the anniversary of Eddie's death. "Regarded as one of the most successful bands of all time, Van Halen will forever be remembered for reinventing Rock'n'Rll and their connection to Pasadena," the plaque concludes.

The tribute was organized by two Pasadena residents, Randa Schmalfeld and Julie Kimura, under the Pasadena 4 Van Halen banner. They managed to raise $6,500 for the plaque from Van Halen fans via a GoFundMe campaign.

"When Pasadena’s own hometown Rock Star, Eddie Van Halen, passed away recently, we all felt our city mourn together, people are still sharing stories of their history with the band and band members, and we have seen tributes near where Eddie and Alex grew up on Las Lunas Street grow daily," the campaign's page reads. "As the city that saw Eddie grow into the person and star he became, our community pride needs a place to shine… and a permanent way to honor our hometown legend." 

Pasadena 4 Van Halen has other tributes in mind, as well. Now that the plaque has been unveiled, they plan to campaign for a street in Pasadena be named after the guitarist and hope to have a mural painted in his honor at the local high school.